Fine Art

Bright small treasures

I managed to combine extra long days and vacation hours to take every Monday off of work this fall. Breathing space. Painting time. My time.

This past Monday I wasn’t up for venturing out alone unto plein air so I tackled a studio painting. I had soured on studio painting a bit ago when my plein air work started to show progress. I was afraid to go back into the studio for fear of failure. Fear; the great instigator.

When Andrew and I visited Jasper the summer before last, one of our most memorable hikes was full circle around Valley of the Five Lakes. That experience included a close encounter with a bear (but not too close), lots of cheesy singing to ward off said bears and many stunning views. I captured a few of those scenes on the digital film and so this past Monday was born a little valley stream scene.

There is a destination I’m chasing and that is to paint loose yet accurate. To paint in my own style while following the thick footprints of plein air painting tradition and a very healthy and vibrant contemporary community of practice. How to be myself within all that history and activity? One of my constant questions. The lovely Facebook (sarcasm) fed me a quote which helps to calm that questioning voice.

“When you paint, try to put down exactly what you see. Whatever else you have to offer will come out anyway.” – Winslow Homer

And so I did. And I felt the paint naturally flowing, the colours matching and the style evolving. And this is why I treasure my Mondays… and ruminate on how to maintain them in 2015.